Georgette Heyer and Regency Historicals

I have a new addiction–Georgette Heyer. Someone put up a post a while back about going back and rereading Cotillion every couple of years, so I finally downloaded it and read it. Yes, it is highly rereadable! I liked it so much that I downloaded The Nonesuch for 1.99 at B&N, and I’m halfway through it as well.

I feel quite certain that I read some Georgette Heyer as a teenager. But I didn’t pay much attention to author names back then, so they all blur into Victoria Holt and Barbara Cartland. So I have dozens of books to read! This is almost as good as when I first discovered Jane Austen!

What is it about the Regency period that is so entrancing? It’s definitely the culture; take a Regency novel out of England and you have quite a different flavor. Of course, the term “Regency” doesn’t apply much if it’s not in England, because that’s the country that had the Prince Regent in question. Curious that he never seems to show up in any Regency novels …

Has anyone ever read a novel–romance or otherwise–that takes place outside of England during the 1810s and 1820s? Like, say, New York? I would think such a novel would be rather grim. I remember reading a novel that took place in India–a rather torrid romance, as I recall.

But Georgette Heyer is quite clean. One kiss at the end, with no particular details.

If you’ve read Georgette Heyer, do you have any particular recommendations for me?

My mother introduced me to “Cotillion” when I was about 10 and I have been an avid Georgette Heyer fan ever since! I have an almost complete collection of her Regency novels in paperback in a box under my bed. When I need an emotional lift, I pull out the box and randomly pick. Some are better than others, but all are worth a read. If you are just discovering her, I envy you your adventures!

I read just about every one of her Regencies and Georgians many years ago as a teenager. My all time favorites are These Old Shades and the sequel to it (featuring the lead couple’s son from These Old Shades), Devil’s Cub. Speaking of books set outside of England, the third book in the trilogy (with the daughter of the second book’s lead couple) is set in the middle of the battle of Waterloo. Another “Regency” featuring English characters but set in Portugal during the Peninsular Wars was Susanna Fraser’s debut book last year, The Sergeant’s Lady – that one is even rarer in that it features a noblewoman who falls in love with an enlisted man after her officer husband is killed. There are others, but settings outside England are a bit unusual.

I believe she wrote more than 50, but I haven’t counted in years. Like JenM above, I loved “These Old Shades” and “Devil’s Cub”. “The Black Moth” and “The Masqueraders” and “False Colours” also spring to mind. Oh, just about any of them. Some obviously are better than others! Have to admit, though, never really liked her detective novels.

I’ve been a Heyer addict since I was 18, and I’m 45 now. I have at least one copy, and often more than one, of each of her published books, even the ones I never reread.

Cotillion and Friday’s Child tie for my absolute favorite, with Venetia being a very close second. The Grand Sophy, The Talisman Ring, The Masqueraders, The Convenient Marriage, Frederica, and The Toll-Gate are also in my top 10.

If you get the chance, try her detective stories as well. My particular favorite is Behold, Here’s Poison!

Glad you’re enjoying reading Heyer. It is always wonderful to have another Heyer-ite in our midst!!